Currents of Ice
by Maiden-of-the-Elements
Summary: A river spirit with a frozen heart targets Kagome till either dies. The cold lord takes it personal when that danger expands to include Rin. Will he be able to protect both while holding his mask of disdain and uncaring. ON HIATUs
1. Hands to catch me

Helloooo peoples! I am so proud of myself, after years of reading FF I will finally write something of my own. Excited squeals I will now release my creative mind and muse upon the unsuspecting world Muhahaha! **Constructive** critism is welcome, but flames will be used heat my house and save on heating bills!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha or any of the characters in it, but if I did..(Sesshoumaru would be _MINE_)... They all belong to the wonderful genius: Rumiko Takahashi.

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Thoughts or Narration - _'Will look like this'_

Speaking - "Will look like this...usually"

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Chapter 1 - Mercy of the Currents  


_Trees filled with the tiny buds of blossoms swayed gently in the breeze, winds swirling through their branches before moving off to comb through the yellowed grasses of the lower ground. Flower buds and early spring blossoms heads bent momentarily before straightening back to lovingly reach for the warmth of the spring sunshine._

The wind twined itself playfully through the ebony locks of a young women leaning peacefully against an old square wooden well. She absent-mindedly raised her slender hand to brush it back from her face before smoothing down her green sailor fuku uniform. She lifted her head and smiled somewhat sadly at the brightly shining sun as clouds drifted across it and reflected on the surface of her gentle brown eyes.

'_Inu Yasha promised that he would come to escort me back to the village once I got back from home_' she thought to herself. '_He knows that I don't feel secure going through the forest alone these days." _

Recently bandit and demon activity had increased in the areas surrounding Kaede's village. Thoughts of being carried off by cruel bandits or devoured by demons crossed her mind as she looked at the dark forest bordering the shrine wells' clearing, she couldn't decide which would be worse but definitely she knew would like to avoid both at all costs.

It was strange she mused, usually bandits didn't attack until late summer or autumn, when the crops were harvested and here it was only mid-spring.

While thinking about the seasons she shivered lightly, the wind had started to blow faster and noticeably cooler. She rubbed her upper arms with her hands to warm them and looked up to sky again. Frowning Kagome watched as the sun peeked out less and less as heavier clouds started to occupy the sky.

'_Typical Kagome you choose to come back right at the best time to get soaked.'_ her dry sarcastic voice sounded through her mind.

This was not good she thought as the shadows around her darkened, she remembered only now that she didn't have her umbrella with her or in her overstuffed backpack. _'Out of all that crap that I don't need I forgot to bring an umbrella? Unbelievable! Thank Kami that mom had my backpack waterproofed for me. Shippo would be heartbroken if the candy I brought him was ruined, not to mention it would ruin my books." _She let out a relieved breath.

However waterproofed her stuff was, she was not so lucky. She giggled and pulled a face at the idea, showering would be a problem and if she didn't wash, she would reek to high heaven. Inu Yasha would then act like his usual insensitive self and complain that she offended his oh so _delicate_ nose.

Snapping out of her train of thought she frowned out at the forest. If Inu Yasha was going to make a promise like this then make _**her**_ wait, then she would go out on her own. And when she saw him next, he had better be prepared with an apology and an explanation, because if he wasn't...Her mind crossly started plot out an real earful for him, punctuated -of course- with a good couple of healthy Sit commands.

She really didn't like using the S-word, she couldn't stand to cause anyone pain. However, her mind rationalized, Inu Yasha really did deserve it and it really didn't hurt him that much since he was part demon. Still, she subtracted a few sits from her carefully planned vocal assault plan.

Picking up her yellow bulging bag and swinging it so that she could walk without being lopsided she started picking her way through the half-dead grass, careful not to step on the flowers that were just starting to appear. She had to make her way through the forest without using the paths because of the bandits, one of the reasons that she wanted Inu Yasha's help was that she often got lost when she didn't follow the paths.

At home, she thought as she began to pick her path over the uneven terrain and thick underbrush, the Sakura trees down South in Kyushu had already begun to uncurl their fragile pink blossoms. The news stations showed big families and cute couples on picnics underneath the beautiful trees. Racking her memory she guessed that it would leave her at least three weeks for shard hunting until her home in Tokyo became a pink covered city.

She had special plans for a special Hanami this year back home. (A/N: Hanami is a flower viewing party in spring when the cherry blossoms bloom. Friends and families visit shrines, parks, or temples to have their party.) She decided that she would first go out with her friends Eri, Yuka, and Yume (also unfortunately most likely Hojo would show up too, courtesy of aforementioned friends. Honestly she was just plan creeped out by him and his overly cheerfulness) to the park by the school and have their yearly picnic.

Kagome started to think about eating Yume's cooking and practically walked into a tree. Making a quick dart sideways she saved herself from embarrassing bruises. She may not be as good as Eri or Yuka in school, but she had a future as a gourmet cook, Kagome was sure of it.

After getting that over with, Kagome planned to spend a special party with her family. Happily she walked without paying attention ,again, to her surroundings. She and her mom together had planned to take the entire family to a beautiful temple they had heard of a little out of city. Even Grandpa had been convinced to go since it _was_ a temple after all. They would have a great day, she was positive of it and would make it so.

Pumping her fist in the air Kagome's spirit soared with happy thoughts and determination. Unfortunately her action shifted both her center of balance and her weight. Her balance totally lost she windmilled her arms and swayed her body to keep her footing.

(A/N: Wishful thinking)

Pitching forward and sideways poor Kags went overside of the edge of a ravine that ran through the forest she had been following.

(A/N: There ARE rivers around there. Remember early in the season Kagome bathed in a river and Inu-baka peeked at her.)

The water was frigid and violent, the meltwater from up north flowing down every spring swelled the normally lazy water flow into a raging river. The shock of falling and plunging deep into the frigid water, stole her breath from her body. Reflex made her gasp in shock of the cold and water flooded her lungs, making her lungs burn for air.

She tried to claw her way to the surface, but only sank deeper. Dark patches began to appear in her vision as her eyes went wide with terror. In a last moment she realized her problem and freed her arms of the backpack dragging her like an anchor to a watery death. She shot to the surface of the water and tried to keep her head high enough to breath.

Coughing so hard that her whole body spasmed as she did a pathetic attempt of treading water while gasping breathes exploded past her blue lips. She swimming lessons at school and the public pool, but was nowhere near able enough to overcome turbulent waves and weak from coughing she could barely move.

It was those lessons that had saved her life so far.

Her legs leaden and already numb from cold but she kept trying to fight the current and reach shore. She had unknowingly already been swept far, far downriver, past Kaede's village.

She felt so tired.

So...tired...

Her legs kicked less and less, each kick weaker until slowly she slipped further under the water and her eyes, unfocused now, closed out of sheer exhaustion.

The water carried her limp body, a shadow on the surface, even further downstream.

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CLIFFIE!!! Dodges immediate hail of tomatos Why is it always tomatos...? 

I know how much you guys Loooove cliffies so here is one from me to you. I'm not sure what happens next since I just made this up in my head in, like, 3 hours. Feel free to drop some ideas and hints during my story. I'm pretty sure this will end up a Kag/Sess story. Remember that I'm brand new at this and sweating like mad out of nervous fear. Heh-heh.

Push the button. Review. Add to Story Alert too while you're at it.


	2. Caught and Hauled Ashore

**Disclaimer: See previous page of me saying how I have no hope of hell of ever owning Inuyasha. **

**I simply manipulate them like puppets.**

I am quite sorry, and _relieved_, that it took me so long to update this. (1) I lost where this story was going and without it, lost interest. (2) I am a spelling and grammer nightmare let loose upon the earth. (3) I just got back from a **Three** week vacation. Don'tcha love summer? I went to the East coast, _Canada._

I packed many sweaters and a bikini.

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**I would like to give SPECIAL thanks to the encouraging words from,**

malencia

Miss Kagura

hirondelle89

Jazz10122

Frozen Megami

and my first ever reviewer: A Sinner's Wish

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**_Chapter 2 -- Snagged and Hauled Ashore_**

_Through the woods from sea to sea, _

_Picking flowers under trees. _

_Light shines bright on the days we'll see,_

_Sesshoumaru-sama, Master Jaken and me._

Skipping happily Rin sang brightly, her sweet high-pitched voice carrying across the field. Her eyes closed in happiness as she traveled through the waving grasses tickling her feet.

Birds took flight and small creatures retreated to a safer distance to watch the little bobbing figure make her way to the edge of the forest. Her light, quick footsteps nimbly avoided stones and rabbit holes with practiced skill.

Eventually she opened her brown eyes; they shined a beautiful cinnamon brown colour, framed by darker brown lashes. She had grown a little during the past two years with Sesshoumaru-sama; she was now proudly ten years old and wore a new kimono.

- A/N: Now I want to make it clear now for those who can't put two and two together by themselves. Kagome fell through the well the same year that Rin met Fluffy-sama. That would make everyone TWO years older then they started at the beginning of the show.

Kagome: 17

Inu Yasha: 17

Sango: 18

Miroku: 21

Shippo: Still looks like he's seven since he's a demon, and I just like him cute. Authors' licence.

On her tenth birthday Sesshoumaru sent her and Jaken into the village to buy her a new kimono since her old one was becoming inappropriately short.

Her new kimono was cotton and was a soft colour of dim Chinese red. It had little orange flowers on the bottom right hemline, left shoulder, and the bottom of her left sleeve. Since her old obi was green and didn't look nice against red she had asked Master Jaken if he would buy her a new obi too. He had thrown a fit and went into full scolding mode about how grateful she should be that Sesshoumaru was kind enough to even notice that she needed a new kimono, let alone get the money to have new kimonos in the first place!

"_Umm . . . Master Jaken?" Rin crept up to the old white bearded man staring out the door of the building at the passing humans in the street. _

_Jaken had disguised himself as an old man so that he could follow Rin through the village and not cause the villagers to panic since he was a demon. His appearance was a little taller and had white shaggy hair and a trimmed white pointy beard. His eyes were still buggy and yellow, but nobody noticed them under so much hair everywhere._

"_What is it Rin? Have you found something for you to wear?" _

_At her hesitation he huffed irritably and began once more to berate her. _

"_Well, hurry up you annoying child! Sesshoumaru-Sama will be furious with both of us if you do not find something appropriate to be seen in and get back to him before he leaves again." _

_His voice started to take on a squawking quality near the end of his tirade, his eyes bulging at the idea that Sesshoumaru would be punishing him because of the stupid human child. _

_This was amusing Rin greatly. She watched him with silent glee and smothered giggles at his distraught appearance. He just looked so funny! She did not wish to insult him and not get to ask him her request so she kept her comments that he was squawking like a bird to herself._

"_Master Jaken . . . MASTER JAKEN!!" she yelled that last one nearly in his face to get his attention out of his own thoughts. _

"_Huwha? ACK! ... What is it Rin?! Do you aim simply to bother me, you brat! What is it already??!" Cross about being startled out of his panic his voice snapped out at her rudely. Why couldn't Sesshoumaru-sama just leave the child at one of the villages they came across? He would be grateful of the silence of traveling with just his master once more, just them two._

"_Master Jaken, Rin has picked out a kimono to wear." Rin held up the garment hanging over her arm to show him._

"_Finally! Let's get out of this disgusting place!" He scuttled toward the middle-aged women sitting at the back of the wooden clothing store._

_Rin caught his sleeve as he brushed past her. "Umm . . . Master Jaken. Could it be possible that Rin could get a new obi as well? There is an orange one, and it would be pretty with—_

_Jaken hurriedly pulled his sleeve out of her fingers and rounded upon her. "Sesshoumaru-sama does not care how you look, and neither do I! You do not need any more clothing unless it has become too small. Is it too small?"_

_At her silent reply he whipped around and once again headed toward the now frowning women sitting on the mat. Obviously she had been in ear range of their conversation. _

_Inwardly Toshiko Kitagawa was fuming at this rude treatment of that poor sweet little girl. Not only that, he had cut back the money she thought she was going to earn since she assumed that they would buy the matching obi as well._

_Jaken was feeling slightly threatened by the aura the women gave off to him as she took his money in exchange for the dress. And her goodbye! She could have frosted the room with her polite "Please come again sir, have a pleasant day." She did not bow. She stared down at Jaken until he gave a little nervous twitch._

_Jaken walked outside, not even checking to check to see if Rin was following him. He headed through the muddy streets toward the border and out to the dark forests where Sesshoumaru-sama and their camp lay. _

Slowing her pace the young girl entered the edges of her and Jaken's temporary campsite. A small fire burning in a shallow pit dug, courtesy of Ah-Un. It was just inside the edge of a forest they had been traveling through, before Sesshoumaru-sama had told them that he was going off on his own for a while, and that they should stay there for safety's sake until he came back.

Well, actually it was Rin's imagination that came up with the part about Sesshoumaru making them wait for their own safety, or him even telling them that she was going off. But since that he always protected her from demons, she naturally thought that he was doing this out of their benefit and so she never questioned him or complained.

"Hello Ah-Un. Look at what Rin has brought you."

At this she swung the stunted flowers from behind her back and into the scaly green demon's face. Her face was that of the joy of a hero presenting their sword to a lord in a gesture of homage.

Over the time spent traveling across the country, Rin observed many humans from the villages they passed by.

Being a curious child from birth, when Master Jaken allowed, she would wander into the villages, sometimes in search of children her own age. While playing with them, she gradually adapted her speech to match theirs.

Basically she stopped referring to herself as a third person. But when she returned to Master Sesshoumaru and started traveling, her speech gradually slipped back into its old habit. As a result, her speaking was a bit mixed: she would switch constantly between using Rin and I. But for her and those around her, no one seemed to notice. Well, not enough to comment on at least.

"I'm sorry that there aren't many, but these are the best ones that Rin could find."

Her face fell as she thought that her friend might go hungry because of her. She couldn't help it, Ah-Un's favorite flowers: the bright red ones with lots and lots of pretty petals just weren't blooming yet. It may be spring now, but the weather had been really cold. Some days it was so cold that fog was swirling around when the sun rose. It was like spring wanted to come and brighten the world with its golden warmth, but winter fought back with icy claws and refused to let go.

Ah-Un gave a grateful snuffle and delicately accepted the food held out in her open arms. His eyes closed and one of his two scaly dragon heads gently bumped against her shoulders in an affectionate gesture.

He could not communicate with either the toad demon or the kind little human girl, but Sesshoumaru understood him well enough when did not say anything in his own tongue. He did not hold conversations often with Western Lord. Both were the type who preferred silence to chattering. The two small ones caused enough noise for them both.

He nudged her shoulder gently, like a cat. He could feel her distress in her about him having enough food and wanted to put her at ease. He was a demon, and did not require food every day like she did. He could go two weeks without food of any kind, water either.

But Rin still brought him all that she could find for him every time they camped. There was not much for the girl to do when they camped farther away from villages then it was safe for her to travel alone.

"Now that Ah-Un has something to eat, it is time for Rin to eat as well" she turned and pulled at a square piece of cloth tied to part of Ah-Un's saddle.

"When Rin gets back, Rin can have a picnic with Ah-Un in the grass. That will be fun and then Ah-Un will not have to eat alone." She smiled at her friend.

Often there was no one but Ah-Un for company when Jaken got too angry at her and marched out of sight to grumble.

"Will Ah-Un wait for Rin to come back with her food? I won't be long, I promise."

Ah-Un snorted, which she took as an affirmative.

So Rin tucked her carrying cloth into her obi and wandered across the grass. She was going to catch some little fish so cook over the fire and tie them up in her cloth. By tying the four corners together she had a small carrying bag to put gathered nuts or fruit and other things she found that she later showed to Jaken and Ah-Un. The scrap was a piece of white cotton that someone had made a mistake in the pattern and thrown out. She had found it near a clothing shop, washed it, and kept it with her always.

Rin wandered for quite a while through the grass and skirted the edge of a wood. The shadows grew longer to cross over their neighbors like the weaving of reeds by skilled hands to create a basket. Clouds wandered from the west to pass along the sun like salmon swimming up a river in a shoal. They created dappled patterns under the ceiling of young leaves in the still forest.

Every shadow drawing across the sun brought a shiver to the small figure at the drop of temperature. Without the sun to warm her like a lizard basking on a rock Rin became conscious of how the spring day was not really as warm as she had assumed it to be the whole day.

She picked up her pace to a light run as her feet touched the ground as light as a nimble fawn's. Every few seconds she flickered her head left and right in increasing frequency to locate a source of running water.

Her feet skidded in the grass as she stilled her body. She could have sworn she heard water, more specifically the sound of water falling over rocks to splash into pools below it.

A small waterfall. Yes, a small waterfall it sounded like to her.

Rin walked farther for at least three minutes. A couple of times she turned and corrected her angle to walk a little farther.

Rin came to the edge of a gorge that dropped down a sloped dirt outskirt. The running river was at least seven meters wide and the waterfall she had heard was at the top of the bend farther up the shore. The water shone clear as most rivers in that time did, running over smooth, grey river stones shaped like flat eggs. The river apparently ran through the woods because it emerged from the forest with trees bracketing it on either bank like protectively cupped hands.

Rin clapped her hands and hugged them to her heart in sheer delight of the beauty of it.It was like a perfect storybook place. Rin twisted her head around expectantly to look for fairies. In stories there were always fairies or pixies in perfect places like this.

Rin had heard stories about pixies, fairies, and angels from people in villages. Sometimes it was an old grandmother or grandfather who gathered the babies and very young children too small to be useful into a group and told the stories to keep them out of trouble. One could not tell frightening tales of demons and shapeshifters to toddlers, so the stories were kept light and happily ever ending.

Once while traveling Rin came across a traveler who was obviously a foreigner. He dressed strangely but he had a full laugh that he exhibited when Rin asked him if he was a street performer from the city. She led him to the nearest village and on the way there he told her about where he was from. When Rin had asked him about a reference made to fairies, he explained what fairies were to his people. He proceeded to tell her about his peoples' legends and mythical creatures.

She had parted with him at the village and left with a new friendship and new subjects for her daydreams. Cultures mixed and born from them were beautiful Kami who guarded over humans and nature who were kind, benevolent, and hunted by bloodthirsty demons.

Rin eased herself over the grassy edge toward the dried border where the stone met water. She walked on top of flat stones cautiously to prevent stepping on loose stones on her way up to the waterfall.

Keeping her eyes on the ground and not on her surroundings she missed the darting shape that passed her in the water. It moved as faster than a water snake but without the undulating movements of the eel. It came to a rest in the reedy waters of the opposite bank a quite a few yards from where it had been preparing to feed by the bottom of the waterfall.

The blue skinned creature was furious! Its whiskers trembled in anger and the fins along it's otter-like body rose up in challenge. It dropped its jaw in a silent snarl and caught another whiff of the small creature that disturbed its meal, stilling the snarl and making it bob its head in confusion.

The scent. It was not of a human. It was not of prey; it was the scent of a demon, and not just of one youkai. Its scent mixed and confused the kelpie with individual scents of three youkai: a toad, a dragon, and a dog. The toad and dragon scents had not greatly disturbed the water fiend mind; it had fed on many things that had come to drink by the falls during the night. It was by nature a nocturnal creature and when, if ever, it came upon land it was at night. But this human bore the scent that sent the kelpie scrambling instinctively for shelter.

The scent was fainter then the rest, but it still permeated her: the scent of a dog demon. One whose power deepened the very musk of their body! The kelpie raised its head out of the water, its eyes and nose above the surface like the head of a crocodile. Its double lidded eyes were all endless dark pupils as it watched Rin come to the base of the waterfall.

Rin stared across the water at the form nearly completely submerged in the water. She didn't think this was such a good spot to go fishing anymore. Something just didn't feel right with the perfect scenery spoiled by the sight of a dead corpse. Rin was starting to feel uncomfortably watched as she stared at the dead body and became aware of how alone she was here. There was no way of telling if drowning was the thing that killed them or if there was not something now prowling through the trees looking at her.

Rin tugged the ends of her sleeves in front of her in nervousness and started to sidle away from the woods at her unprotected back. She sloshed all the way up to her calves in the water, until the current was tugging them and making little arrow ripples as it passed by her.

Rin made her way step by edgy step toward the pale body pulled up on the shore. There was only one way to be sure if they drowned. She was going to check. The closer Rin got to the figure the more she was able to make out of its appearance. With the long hair Rin figured it to be a woman, but it was a very particular looking women. Her clothes must have been ripped up by the stones in the river thought Rin; Nobody wears a kimono that short, not even the boys.

Rin was almost across the river to the women. She seemed okay to Rin, aside from being dead.

Her face seemed peaceful, her eyes were closed like she drowned. It she had been attacked by demons or the like Rin reasoned, her face would be screwed into an expression of terror with her eyes open.

But this woman looked peaceful, like she was only sleeping. Half of her hair covered her face in wet black locks stuck to her skin. Rin shuffled closer and tilted her head to see her as if she were lying straight. Something about her was striking a chord of familiarity in Rin. Her kimono was in two pieces and the hem was not ripped as much as to give evidence that the rest had been torn away. A little piece of red hung over her chest in a sad, defeated way. Both her arms were still partway in the water and they moved gently with the brush of the small weeds growing between the stones.

The fabric of one of those arms had been ripped off at the elbow to drift by the cuff. It was that fabric that brushed over Rin's ankle still in the water while she examined Kagome.

Rin screeched and gave a surprised jerk to pull her leg out of the water. She fell backwards at to not land on the body and landed in the water, skinning both hands in an attempt to not land hard on her rear.

_Splash_

The sight of the intruder falling helplessly in its' water and the taste of ordinary human blood was enough for the kelpie. I whipped into through water and sprang at Rin in a leap into the air, fins outspread and rows of tiny fangs open wide for her neck.

Rin raised a soaking arm over her face and **SCREAMED**.

In a heartbeat the kelpie's trajectory changed and its body arched backwards with a gash the length of its body flowing green and red fluid to land with a flat slap on the water.

Breathing erratically Rin lifted her eyes over her still raised arm then flung herself at the statuesque form recoiling a glowing whip back into his claws.

"Sesshoumaru-sama" cried Rin.

"Rin is so sorry. I went too far from camp by myself and I got in trouble and you had to come save Rin. Ikenai koto o shimashita, I won't do it again Sesshoumaru-sama." Sniffled Rin as she wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

Sesshoumaru tilted his head to look at the small brunette with sunlit honey-coloured eyes. In truth he had followed the scent of the girl from camp after telling the dragon youkai they would be moving out shortly. While the joyful spirit of Rin was one of the things that set her apart from the other contemptible humans of her kind, she was becoming dangerously ignorant of the dangers around her.

Sesshoumaru was sure that while she traveled close to the party rarely any demon would dare openly attack, especially if he himself was close to her. But the number of youkai driven to a senseless violent frenzy had increased due to the corrupting powers of both the Shikon no Tama, and Naraku's spreading miasmic influence. He was as close to concern as he had ever been in his entire life when it came to this little mortal.

"You are unharmed" his cold question came out as more of a statement, but he could smell no large amounts of blood from her.

"_Snff_, hai Sesshoumaru-sama. Rin just fell down when the demon tried to eat me"

"That was no demon." His sense of the creature's aura was one of malevolence equal to a youkai, but it lacked the proper aura of even a weak youkai. It was merely a simple spirit.

"It is also not yet dead."

For the dead body floating limply in the water had disappeared. It must have slipped away while his attention had been drawn to the apologizing Rin. Possibly it would be reasonable it could have glided downstream in the current, but Sesshoumaru had not lived as long as he had by making careless assumptions, especially ones that rang so harshly against his own gut intuitions.

"Come Rin. We must go now. We are leaving."

"Wait! Sesshoumaru-sama, we can't just leave her. If it comes back for her Rin thinks it will eat her." Rin pointed her arm down to where the unconscious body of Kagome still lay.

Sesshoumaru cast his gaze at the abandoned looking body and isolated what Rin had been trying to piece together.

"That is the hanyou's wench." His voice was flat with the condescension he felt at his brother's rising memory.

"But Sesshoumaru-Oh! Rin now remembers her. Rin has seen her before; she has played with the onna some times before."

"You have come in contact with this woman, and she has treated you appropriately."

She jumped for the window he was unknowingly creating for the women's defense.

"Oh yes Sesshoumaru-sama. She was nice and she played with me, and we played with the kitsune boy too. And she gave me and Shippo sweets to eat. She was not mean at all even though I think she knows that Rin is with Sesshoumaru-sama and you fight with the half demon. Even though they are friends, she was nice to me." Rin finished her rant with a big smile and biiiig hopeful eyes up at Sesshoumaru.

"Pretty please Sesshoumaru-sama, I do not want her to be eaten like Rin almost was."

That was it.

Obviously Rin was attached to this, _wrench_, that followed his brother. She would become unduly distressed both that she would be leaving her in such a condition, and it would likely be akin to the method she was almost fated to. If the spirit did not resuscitate and come back after it had recovered, then Sesshoumaru knew it would not be long before carron eaters of both mortal and demon nature smelt a dying life force and came to investigate.

He had no plan on how far it would be until she awoke, but surely when she came to her senses she would run back to Inu Yasha and he would see no more of her. Until then he would have Ah-Un carry her.

"When Ah-Un arrives, Rin, you will assist in placing her on the saddle and will sit behind her to prevent her from falling off."

Gods knew it would be enough of a try on his patience with having to pick up the fallen miko every five minutes.

That's right, he remembered, the woman was a miko, in power if not in training. And she also had some sort of connection to the dead bi–(oops, authors' opinion going too far here) miko whom his brother once lusted for. She seemed to side with Naraku now while playing with her former lover's heart.

He could not understand why the women had not just gone to hell. His brother was not worth coming back for.

The jingle of harnesses and stomping feet brought both their attentions to the woods and the emerging dragon, Jaken sitting meditatively on the saddle with his staff of two heads.

Ah-Un stopped at the edge of the water, Jaken opened one eye inquisitively.

"Ah! Milord" he exclaimed as he jumped down. "We are ready to go."

"We will be taking the human with us."

Jaken jerked and his looked taken aback.

"Of course we will be taking Rin with us Milord. I was not aware that you were taking into consideration the possibility of leaving her behind. I had certainly no idea to hope that we would be leaving her so that she would not slow us down."

"Jaken"

"Hm?"

"The other human"

"What other—that one! That one is dead already Milord! If not, it will surely perish soon! Must we really . . . "Jaken trailed off at the look his lord was giving him.

"We will be leaving as soon as you and Rin have her upon the saddle, so do not take your time."

"Thank you Milord! Ah-Un, come here and help Rin get the lady on your back. Sesshoumaru-sama says I will sit behind her so that she does not fall off."

"But, but, but . . . !" Spluttered Jaken under his breath.

Rin had grabbed hold of Kagome under her shoulders and was attempting to heave her up Ah-Un's flank to the saddle by herself. Unfortunately one ten year old girl isn't high on the list of peoples with massive muscle strength.

Toads aren't powerhouses either.

Ah-Un watched helplessly over his shoulders at the antics of the two struggling and sent a silent message to the watching Sesshoumaru.

'_They are unable to do this themselves. It is impossible for them Sesshoumaru-sama' _came the double voice.

Sesshoumaru had in truth been half amused by the sight before him more them aggravated. He gave a slight nod to Ah-Un to acknowledge his request and approached them.

Using his lone arm he hooked it under Kagome's legs and swung them up where Rin was sitting on top holding under her shoulders. Rivets of water trickled down the dark leather from her soaked clothing.

Rin hiked up her kimono and shifted her hold so that she was sitting with her legs on either side of Kagome and wrapped her arms around her middle. She turned her head so that she wouldn't suffocate in Kagome's back to speak to Sesshoumaru.

"All ready Sesshoumaru-sama"

Nodding, and deciding that Rin had a secure enough hold on the women, Sesshoumaru summoned his youki cloud to move a little faster to make up for lost time.

* * *

**Ikenai koto o shimashita - I've done something I shouldn't have**

**Hai - Yes**

**Youkai - Demon**

**Youki - Demon energy/chi**

**As further great news, in writing the last half of this about three hours ago (I type with only one hand here, I'm weird and I can't be broken of it) I had inspiration play a little visual movie of what was going to happen next chapter. **

**What, you think I'd tell ya?**

**REVIEW!!! Don't just read! **

**If I get 50 reviews eventually, I'll release I story I just finished about Sesshoumaru, a watermelon, and resulting mass distruction. If you're good I might make it into a comic strip ;p **


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